Hotels in the area tend to be $200-$250. The Sheraton Commander has some sort of special deal for pre-paid rooms. Hotel Veritas had rooms around $200. There may also be b&b’s in Cambridge for ~$125-175/night.

Some posters recommend airbnb instead, as that tends to be much cheaper. Close to campus runs $80-$100. Further out will find $60/night.

HLS will provide reimbursement up to $300, but seems to be tied to need-based aid.

Should I Bring a Car? There is a mixed impression. Most people say don’t bring a car because parking is a nightmare. However, if you really do want a car, the process of getting a Cambridge parking permit is rather easy. You can usually get an uncovered parking spot near your off-campus residence for ~$150/month. Everett Street Garage (right next to campus) will cost you $2200/year (2011).

Housing Options

There are 3 types of options around HLS: dorms, Harvard apartments (HUH), and off-campus apartments.

Dorms Note: All dorms come fully furnished. They are available for 9-month leases, no extra fees, all utilities included.

Harvard University Housing Note: These rooms do not come furnished. They are available for 1-year leases, then 9-months when you’re a 3L. Subletting tends to be easy over the summer. No extra fees, all utilities included. More info here.

Terry Terrace (~$1,200-$2,100) Right across from the WCC, studios, 1BR and 2BR, private bathroom and kitchen. 29 Garden Street (~$1,000-$2,200) A few blocks west of the law campus, studios, 1BR, 2BR, and 3BR, private bathroom and kitchen. 5 min. walk to campus. Botanical Garden (~$1,000-$2,000) 1BR, 2BR, 3BR with private baths and kitchen. Larger and nicer than 29 Garden. About 9 min. walk to camus

Directly around campus: "Apartments around Harvard Square will be VERY expensive- $1600+ for a 1BR, $2400+ for a 2BR.” -jimbeam21

Porter Square: North of campus (13min by foot, 8min by train)

Davis Square: North of campus (24min by foot, 16min by train). "You can probably find a 1BR in Davis 5-10 min from the train around $1100; 2BR are even cheaper per room. Both areas are very student-dense, but very young-professional friendly.”-jimbeam21

Inman Square: East of campus (10-15min by foot, 20 by train).

Brighton: " while its cheap, you'll be stuck on the B train of the Green line- which is a nightmare. That area is also very student-dense, but in a trashy kind of way. The housing options are very run-down and it will be constantly loud.” -jimbeam21

Allston- SW of campus, across the river (30min by foot, 60 by train). “A cheaper option that is bus-accessible to Harvard, but prepare to be surrounded by undergrads and bars. If you're not bus-adverse and you have a family or a spouse that commutes outside the city, you might consider some parts of Arlington. It's a suburb just north of Somerville/North Cambridge but has a few major bus lines.”-delilah88

Note that in Boston, you will often have to pay the first and last month’s rent as a deposit, plus a broker fee equal to month’s rent. Leases are 1yr, tend to start 9/1, and not all landlords will allow you to sublet over the summer.

When to look: Late May, June, or July. If you want to live off-campus, you will probably want to get a broker whose fees will usually be equal to the first month of rent. Some of the best apartments seem to get signed during ASW, so if you find something you like, jump on it quickly.

What price is right: You probably won’t be able to find anything for less than $1000/month unless you want to live underground or get a roommate. However, the further from campus you go, the cheaper it will be.

Renter’s Insurance: Policies were around $150 in 2011 for a 1 BR apartment.

From what I’ve gathered, there are three ways to look for apartments:

Walk around, try to get lucky. Is difficult, but often nets the best results.

HOW TO FIND A ROOMMATE Harvard has a multitude of ways to find roommates, so I’ll list a few here.

Post on TLS. Duh.

HRES Roommate Click: Extremely cumbersome, but has the widest reach of any roommate service. Run by Harvard, this is available to all university students. Law students have used it in the past to find roommates, and this option is especially good if you would prefer to live with a non-HLS students.

Getting to Maybe by Richard Fischl and Jeremy Paul Don't read this over the summer. You can if you really have nothing else to do, but you'll be better off reading it after you've settled into classes.

Impeccable Research, A Concise Guide to Mastering Legal Research Skills by Mark Osbeck

One L by Scott Turrow

The Five Types of Legal Argument by Wilson Huhn

DON'T READ BLUEBOOKS OR CASE STUDIES. Nobody recommends doing this.

Note: I compiled this information from the HLS website, the advice given in this thread, and in the 'Ask a HLS Student' thread. I did my best to be accurate, but shoot me a pm if anything seems wrong.

Past Polls

Which ASW are you planning to attend? March 69% [ 27 ] April 30% [ 12 ]

Wasn't really emotional until I just got the official email. Now getting a bit verklempt.

Interesting that they give out Harvard email addresses that the 40% of admits who don't end up going won't use after June or so. Are those just temp ones, and you get your real ones after matriculating? I have to think they don't want people running around with working @law.harvard.edu email addresses who don't end up going, but maybe they deactivate them once they withdraw. Seems easier to just issue them once people deposit rather than deactivate 400 though.

LetsGoMets wrote:Wasn't really emotional until I just got the official email. Now getting a bit verklempt.

Interesting that they give out Harvard email addresses that the 40% of admits who don't end up going won't use after June or so. Are those just temp ones, and you get your real ones after matriculating? I have to think they don't want people running around with working @law.harvard.edu email addresses who don't end up going, but maybe they deactivate them once they withdraw. Seems easier to just issue them once people deposit rather than deactivate 400 though.

I think it's actually a tool to increase yield. It's really cool, and people get attached to it. Think of it like the cool stuff in admissions packages.

LetsGoMets wrote:Wasn't really emotional until I just got the official email. Now getting a bit verklempt.

Interesting that they give out Harvard email addresses that the 40% of admits who don't end up going won't use after June or so. Are those just temp ones, and you get your real ones after matriculating? I have to think they don't want people running around with working @law.harvard.edu email addresses who don't end up going, but maybe they deactivate them once they withdraw. Seems easier to just issue them once people deposit rather than deactivate 400 though.

They're the real ones Your theory on deactivating the people that don't matriculate makes total sense. My guess on why they do it (because it happened to me) is that the jd17.law.harvard.edu email address is the best kind of swag... super hard to turn down, makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. On the more practical side, there's a ton of stuff here that's coded to the year in your email address.. career services and registrar's emails etc. It's easier for them to just issue everyone a jd18 (in your cases) email address than to keep the list of admits' personal email addresses updated.